Laundry bag

ABSTRACT

A laundry bag has an open end capable of folding back onto itself around the upper rim of a laundry hamper and to fasten to itself as through hook and pile type fasteners to hold the bag on the hamper. A flap to close the laundry bag has a grommet through which a strap of the bag passes. The strap then fastens to itself with hook and pile type fasteners to close the bag. Strap are provided at the bottom of the bag for transport of the bag as by laundry machinery.

Unit

Consorti States atent [191 [451 Aug. 27, 1974 LAUNDRY BAG [76] Inventor: Sebastian .llohn Consorti, 820 S.

McClelland St., Santa Maria, Calif.

[22] Filed: June 5, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 259,905

[52] US. Cl 150/7, 150/51, 229/62, 248/99 [51] int. Cl 865d 33/114, B65d 33/16 [58] Field of Search 150/7, 48, 49, 50, 51

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 580,503 4/1897 Paterson 150/51 2,574,563 11/1951 Hieb 150/49 2,767,757 10/1956 Marder 150/51 3,396,885 8/l968 Giondi 150/51 X 3,550,837 l2/l970 Erb 150/42 FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 739,067 1/1933 France 150/42 Primary ExaminerWilliam i. Price Assistant ExaminerStephen P. Garbe Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Christie, Parker & Hale [5 7] ABSTRACT A laundry bag has an open end capable of folding back onto itself around the upper rim of a laundry hamper and to fasten to itself as through hook and pile type fasteners to hold the bag on the hamper. A flap to close the laundry bag has a grommet through which a strap of the bag passes. The strap then fastens to itself with hook and pile type fasteners to close the bag. Strap are provided at the bottom of the bag for transport of the bag as by laundry machinery.

v 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures LAUNDRY BAG BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to laundry containers and in particular to laundry bags.

Heretofore, commercial laundry bags have employed draw cords around their open end to close the contents of the bag and hold them in place for transportation, handling in a laundry, and the like.

Regrettably, the draw cord technique has not proven very satisfactory. Initially, to close a bag the draw ends must be tied. Upon opening the bag it is often the prac tice to just cut the knots off. Consequently, the draw cords are constantly in the need of repair. Moreover, draw cords sometimes wear out the sleeves in which they reside.

In normal practice, commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants and the like employ laundry bag hampers which have a rim supported above the floor by legs. The laundry bag is attached over the rim by folding the open end of the bag over the top of the rim and down the side of the bag and then drawing the draw cord tight to prevent the laundry bag from pulling back over the hamper rim. Stated in other words, the open end of the laundry bag will turn inside out around the rim of the laundry hamper and the drawn draw cord secures the bag in place. When, as is sometimes the case, draw cords or the sleeves in which they reside are damaged or missing, it is impossible to properly mount the laundry bag on its hamper.

One of the most troublesome aspects of the laundry carrying containers is in unloading them. The usual procedure is to loosen the draw cord and allow the contents to fall in a controlled manner where they are desired. This does not always work, however, for the laundry in a bag can be extremely heavy, up to 500 pounds is not uncommon. and as a consequence can rush out of the open end of the bag in an uncontrolled manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In its broadest form, the present invention provides a laundry article with a closure flap capable of closing an open end of the article and, when closed, is secured that way with hook and pile type fasteners for easy commercial handling in a laundry. In its preferred form the present invention provides an improved laundry bag which is characterized by a marginal band at the bags open end which is capable of folding back onto itself. Hook and pile type fasteners are spaced from each other on this band so that when the band is placed around the rim of a laundry hamper the hook and pile type fasteners can be secured together to hold the bag in place, even with the considerable loads that the bag might have to support.

As previously mentioned, the bag of the present invention has a flap for its closure, as when it is full, which employs hook and pile type fasteners in its closure. In greater detail, the flap has an eyelet or grommet through which a strap on the bag can pass. The strap, looped through the grommet, secures to itself with hook and pile fasteners.

It has been found that the provision of hook and pile type fasteners on laundry bags results in considerable advantages. Initially, the hook and pile type fasteners are very strong and therefore are capable of supporting Accordingly, it is preferred to have at least one strap at the bottom of the laundry bag 'for purposes of transporting the bag in an inverted position.

The hook and pile type fasteners about the marginal band at the open end of the bag provide a highly satisfactory means of mounting the laundry bag onto a hamper. Thehook and pile type fastener by its very nature is rugged and therefore the problems associated with worn-out seams and draw cords are no longer encountered. Moreover, the requirement of cutting away knots and the like to open a bag is clearly not present with the hook and pile type fasteners. One must merely peel the fasteners apart to open the bag or to take it off a hamper.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, appended claims and draw mgs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the laundry bag of the present invention showing the covering flap in an open position and the marginal band for mounting the bag on a standard laundry hamper also in an open positron;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational fragmentary view of the laundry bag and closure flap with the strap through the grommet of the flap and fastened to itself to close the bag; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view looking down onto the top and side of the improved laundry bag of the present invention mounted on a typical laundry hamper.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference initially to FIG. l, the improved laundry bag is indicated in general by reference numeral 10. It is typically made of heavy canvas or synthetic material constructed to support the considerable loads which it must carry in commercial laundry usage. The bag is closed along its side and bottom but is open at its top.

The bag has a cover flap 12 which is preferably generally triangular in shape and which is disposed in spaced relationship to the upper, open end of the bag. This upper end of the bag is indicated by reference numeral 14. The flap can be viewed as the lower boundary of a marginal band 16 of the bag. The flap has an eyelet or grommet 18 which is adapted to cooperate with a strap 20 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) affixed to the body of the bag to close the flap and the bag and secure laundry within it.

Strap 20 is attached to bag 10 with a portion left free for passage through grommet l8 and to double back on itself for attachment. The free end of strap 20 has one portion of a hook and pile fastener while the part of the strap affixed to the bag has the other portion. The portions of the hook and pile type fasteners are indicated by reference numeral 21. When these two portions are pressured together and the strap is looped through grommet 18, cover flap 12 is closed.

The upper end of the bag, as previously described, has a perimetric marginal band 16. This band has two sets of two hook and pile type fasteners spaced at about a bag diameter. These sets of fasteners are shown by reference numerals 22 and 24. As is well known, hook and pile fasteners have considerable strength. Each set of hook and pile type fasteners of the laundry bag of the present invention is a mating pair of fasteners which are capable of cooperating with each other to secure the marginal band to itself when it is folded back onto itself, as is illustrated in FIG. 3. This is, when the marginal band is turned back onto itself such that the upper of the pairs of hook and pile type fasteners is brought 1 down onto the lower mating of the hook and pile type fasteners, they can readily be pressed together to secure themselves together and to define a sleeve for an upper rail of a laundry hamper. This is shown explicitly in FIG. 3, which is slightly broken away at one point to show the bag folded back over a rim 26 of a laundry hamper 28. The rim is supported by legs 30 above a floor.

One of the advantages of the present invention is its adaptability to conform the band of the present invention to various shapes of the laundry hampers, including the ability to accommodate laundry hamper legs 30 without compromising to any appreciable extent the strength between attached hook and pile fasteners.

When used as a commercial laundry article and inverted with filled laundry, the laundry bag of the present invention can be opened at any desired place by grasping strap 20 and peeling its hook and pile type fastener apart, yet the fastener is of sufficient strength to hold the considerable load presented in most normal laundry practices. As a consequence it is very easy, safe and fast to handle the bags of the present invention in a laundry.

Moreover, with hook and pile type fasteners there are none of the problems of draw cords and sleeves pointed out previously.

The present invention has been described with reference to a laundry bag but the invention applies in general to laundry articles and would embrace within its terms such articles as laundry slings. Accordingly, the scope and spirit of the appended claims should not, necessarily, be limited to the specific embodiment of the invention described.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved laundry carrying receptacle comprismg:

a. a flexible, open-ended bag having a marginal band completely about its open end, the band being capable of folding back onto itself and around a continuous upper rim of a laundry hamper;

b. hook and pile type fasteners disposed perimetrically at intervals around the band at the open end of the bag, with pairs of such fasteners being in position such that upon folding the open end back onto itself over the rim of the laundry hamper the hook and pile type fasteners cooperate to secure the bag in place about the rim;

. a flap capable of closing a full laundry bag and being disposed below the hook and pile type fasteners at the upper end of the bag, the flap having an eyelet;

d. a strap affixed to the bag and having a free end for passage through the eyelet of the flap; and

. hook and pile type fasteners for the flap with a first portion thereof being affixed to the free end of the strap and a second portion to the bag such that when the strap is looped through the eyelet and brought back to the bag and the first portion of the hook and pile type fasteners for the flap is pressed against the second portion thereof the flap is secured closed.

2. The improved laundry bag claimed in claim 1 wherein the bag has at least one strap disposed at the bottom of the bag for transporting it in a laundry facility. 

1. An improved laundry carrying receptacle comprising: a. a flexible, open-ended bag having a marginal band completely about its open end, the band being capable of folding back onto itself and around a continuous upper rim of a laundry hamper; b. hook and pile type fasteners disposed perimetrically at intervals around the band at the open end of the bag, with pairs of such fasteners being in position such that upon folding the open end back onto itself over the rim of the laundry hamper the hook and pile type fasteners cooperate to secure the bag in place about the rim; c. a flap capable of closing a full laundry bag and being disposed below the hook and pile type fasteners at the upper end of the bag, the flap having an eyelet; d. a strap affixed to the bag and having a free end for passage through the eyelet of the flap; and e. hook and pile type fasteners for the flap with a first portion thereof being affixed to the free end of the strap and a second portion to the bag such that when the strap is looped through the eyelet and brought back to the bag and the first portion of the hook and pile type fasteners for the flap is pressed against the second portion thereof the flap is secured closed.
 2. The improved laundry bag claimed in claim 1 wherein the bag has at least one strap disposed at the bottom of the bag for transporting it in a laundry facility. 